Mixing apparatus



l Feb. 17, 1942. `G, W', NEWTQN T AL 2,273,761 MIXING AFPARATUS Filed Sept. 25, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 17, 1942; Q W, NEWTON ET AL 2,273,761

MIXING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 23, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Feb. 17, 1942. Q W NEWTON `ET AL 2,273,761

MIXING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 25, 1940 y y 4 Sheets-Sheet 6 Gear W Neu/ola l?. Powell.

l 'CAQ-Z s Feb. 17, 1942. G. w. NEWTON ET Al.

MIXING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 25, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Feb. 17, -1942 2.273,7 61. MIXING APPARATUS George W. Newton and Paul R. Powell, Baltimore, Md., assignors to Crown Cork & Seal Company, Inc., Baltimore, Md., acorporation of New York Application September 23, 1940, Serial No. 357,974

Claims.

The present invention relates to a mixing apparatus and, more particularly, to an apparatus for mixing the contents of soft drink containers.

The present structure is an improvement upon the apparatus disclosed in George W. Newton Patent No. 2,216,090, issued September 24, 1940, for Mixing method and apparatus.

In filling soft drink containers, it iseusual to rst ow the proper amount of syrup into the bottom of the container and then now into the container a charge of carbonated Water having ve or six times the volume of the syrup. Since the syrup is heavier than the carbonated Water, it tends to remain at the bottom of the container and, because of the syrup thickness, itis necessary to bodilyvmove the container inorder that the syrup Will bel thoroughly intermingled with the Water.

The above-mentioned Newton patent discloses an apparatus comprising a rotary. table including a number of container or bottle supporting elements which are rotatable in a, plane radial of the table, each bottle supporting element including a ibottle supportingplatform and a reciprocable clamping head. At the point during the rotation of the rotary table where a bottle `will bedelivered to a bottle supporting element, the

element is held upright and the clamping arm is held raised. Immediately subsequent thereto, and during the continued rotation of the rotary table, the clamping arm descends to lock the bottle in place and the supporting element is then swung through approximately 180 in a vertical plane so'as to invert the bottle and cause the syrup to flow longitudinally. v

The platforms and clamping heads of the bottle supporting elements are rotatable with respect to the remainder of these elements and during the time that a bottle is in inverted position, the platform is rotated to cause the container and its contents tospin about the longitudinal axis of the container so that the contents will be thoroughly mixed. Thisspinning is subsequently stopped, the bottle supporting element uprighted and the clamping head raised so that the bottle may be removed from the rotary table.

Because of the high speeds at which mixing apparatus are operated, it is extremely important that the bottles be rmly clamped in centered position in the container supporting elements, otherwise the spinning movement, ranging from approximately 800 to 1500 revolutions per minute, may cause the bottles to be ejected from the machine.

The problem of centering bottles is increased by reason of the fact that the rotary table is rotated Yat fairly high speed and bottles must be transferred onto the bottle supporting elements of the table during` such rotation. Therefore, 'the slightest impedance in the path of a bottle may cause it to be slightly o-center in the supporting element.

An important object of the present invention is to remove all interference with the transfer movement of containers and also the provision of positive means to center each container in the supporting elements and securely hold it so that it can be tilted and spun at high speed Without any possibility of becoming loose from the apparatus.

A further object is the provision of a container supporting platform which is freely rotatable with respect to its container supporting element and upon which a container can be quickly moved and centered Without any possibility of being upset during such movement, as well as during reverse movement. v

A still further object is the provision of a container `supporting plate which will be iiush with the stationary table of the apparatus during the time that containers are moving to and from the container supporting elements and which will also center all sizes of containers. Another object of the invention is to provide a container top clamping means which includes a readily rotatable element to rmly hold the top of a container.

A further object is to provide means particularly designed to positively engage the upper portion of a container during transfer movement to and from a container supporting element.

Heretofore, most bottle handling machines of the rotary table type, including filling machines, have simply included means to engage the lower portion of a container during transfer movement. The present apparatus includes means to also engage and guide the upper portion of the containerLthereby entirely obviating the possibility of a container being upset during transfer.

Another object is to provide means to cooperate withrthe container supporting elements to insure that every container will be accurately centered ktherein before spinning movement is initiated.

y A further object of the invention is to provide container centering means fixed on the container supporting elements to receive the -loWer portion of the bottles and center the same.

Another object of the invention is to provide an efficient and economical arrangement for controlling the tilting movement of the container supporting elements.

It has heretofore been proposed to control such tilting movement by a rack and pinion connection between the bottle supporting element and a sliding element reciprocated by a stationary cam. In other arrangements, such movement has been controlled by shafts geared to the container supporting element. The present invention involves the use of a sliding element reciprocated by a stationary cam and connected to the bottle supporting element by a iiexible chain. It is found that this arrangement is much simpler than prior arrangements, is readily adjustable, and results in extremely efficient operation.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a means for controlling the operation of the clamping head and which means also has the function of insuring that the container supporting elements will remain in upright position during the transfer operation.

Injprior apparatus, it has been usual to provide a separate cam track on the fixed portion of the machine and to equip each container supporting element with a roller or guide element to follow this track during the time that the element is in upright position for transfer of bottles.

By the present arrangement, this separate cam track and roller are eliminated and the bottle is securely held in upright position by the clamping arm operating means.

The above-mentioned arrangement is of such design that long use of a machine cannot result in the mechanism having play and thereby causing the container supporting elements to have a slightly tilted position during the critical transfer operation.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved arrangement for spinning the containers or bottles, as well as a simple and readily removable mounting for the same.`

Other objects and advantages of the invention willbe apparent from the following drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a radial section through the front portion of a machine of the general type disclosed in the above-mentioned Newton patent,

the View showing the mechanism for tilting the container supporting elements in vertical section,

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional View of the rear portion of the rotary table, with portions in side elevation,

Figure 3 is a detail View showing the clamping arm controlling means in the position which it will occupy immediately after a container supporting element has been uprighted but before clamping, the view being taken from behind Figure 1,

Figure 4 is an enlarged vertical section of a container supporting element tilting mechanism,

Figure 5 is a top plan view, with portions in horizontal section, of a container top clamping arm,

Figure 6 is a side elevation, partly in vertical section, of a container supporting element,

Figure 7 is a vertical sectional View through the body element of a bottle supporting platform,

Figure 8 is a side elevation, partly in vertical section, of the top clamping portion of 4a Vbottle supporting element,

Figure 9 is ahorizontal sectional View on the line 9-9 of Figure 6,

Figure 10 is a plan view of the major portion of the cam structure of the apparatus,

Figure 11 is a development of the front portion of the cam shown in Figure 10, with the front central portion thereof omitted, and

Figure 12 is a horizontal sectional View on the line |2I2 of Figure 1.

Referring to Figure 1, the numeral I5 designates the stationary worktable which is provided at the front of the machine. A base section I5a projects rearwardly from the stationary worktable and includes a suitable vertical journal for the rotary table Iii which is driven through suitable driving connections. As is described in the above-mentioned Newton patent, the stationary table I5 is provided with a driven infeed dial Il and an outfeed dial, not shown. The infeed dial Il delivers a container to one of the bottle supporting elements generally designated by the numeral I8 which are spaced about the periphery of the rotary table I6 and the outfeed dial subsequently removes containers from these elements. Sixteen container supporting elements I8 are usually provided and, as best shown in Figure 1, each container supporting element I8 is mounted upon one of a series of spaced upstanding housings or hollow posts I9 xed to the periphery of the rotary table, the container supporting elements including horizontally extending shaftsv 20 which extend into and are journalled in the upper portions of the housings I9 so that the container supporting elements may rotate alongside such housings in a plane radial of the table I6. lThis movement is indicated by the upright position of a container supporting element in Figure 1 as compared with its inverted position indicated in Figure 2.

Referring to Figure 6, each container supporting element I8 includes a tubular portion 25 having the stub shaft 20 fixed in its upper end. The lower portion of tubular element 25 includes an integral outward extension 26 having its outer end of cup-shaped form as indicated at 21. The central portion of the cup 2l is apertured as indicated at 28 to receive a pin 29 which is headed to bear upon the inner ring of a bearing assembly 3U mounted in the cup portion. Each cup member 2l has mounted therein a container supporting platform 3| including a plate 32. As best shown in Figure 7, each platform 3| is of cup-like form and includes a circular depending skirt 33 and arms 34 extending inwardly and downwardly from its upper portion, which arms support a downwardly flanged portion 35 including a depending sleeve 36.

As shown in Figure 6, the sleeve 36 of each platform 3l surrounds the outer ring of the bearing assembly 30 so that the platform will rotate with such ring, The platform is held to the ring by a suitable locking element shown in Figure 6 and positioned in the annular groove 3l at the lower portion of the inner surface of sleeve 36. The top wall of portion 35 is spaced very slightly above the upper end of the pin 29, and it will be noted that the outer surface of sleeve 35 is spaced slightly within the upstanding flange of the cup 21 so as to rotate freely within such cup.

The bottle supporting plate 32 is, as best shown in Figure 9, of spider form and is so positioned within platform 3l that its radial outwardly and downwardly extending arms 38 alternate with the inwardly and downwardly extending arms 34 of the platform. The outer ends of the -plate to and from the plate 32.

The forward extension 2S of each container supporting element I8 carries a roller 42 fora purpose hereinafter set forth. y

The container clamping arm :l included in each bottle container supporting element is illustrated in detail in Figures 5 and 6` and is fixed to the upper end of a rod 3i? extending down- `wardly into the tubular housing 25 of the element. The lower end of rod 55 is enlarged to form an upwardly facing shoulder 4l and a coil spring 48 extends between this shoulder and the upper inner portion of the housing 25 with the result that the rod and clamping arm 45 will normally be urged toward the container supporting plate 32. The lower portion of rod 4S has a conical recess 49 therein adapted to be engaged by an element 50 hereinafter described which will raise the rod and clamping arm against the action of spring 48. The reciprocating' movements `of the v clamping arm 45 and rod #i6 in the housing 25v are guided by a bar 5| secured in the clamping arm 45 and adapted to move through an aperture 52 in housing 25.l As shown in Figure 8, bar 5| is connected to rod t5 by a plate 53 pinned to the rod and which limits the downwardmovement of clamping arm 45 with respect to housing `25. As indicated in Figure 6, in the downward and Vclamping position of arm 55, with a bottle beneath this arm, the plate 53 will still be spaced somewhat above the upper end of housing 25.

The outer end of each clamping arm 55 has the form of a downwardly facing cup as indicated at 55 and a bearing assembly 55 is mounted in this cup. The outer ring of bearing assembly 56 rests upon an annular ring 51 which includes lower diverging arms 53 and 59, these arms being carried by the ring at a point beneath the low'er edge of cup 55. The rearward portion of cup 55 extends further downwardly as indicated at 6U and a pin 5| connects the rear portion of the wings to the extension 6| so as to lock the ring 51 in place. The inner ring of bearing assembly 56 has fixed thereto a bottle cap engaging element 63 including a shank 54 carrying a wire which bears upon the top of the bearing assembly. Cap,

engaging elementY 53 has a downwardly facing recess therein of a form to snugly engagea crown cap sealed upon a container.

i Figure 8 shows a slightly modified form of cap engaging element 53a which includes a water guard 65 for bearing assembly 56. Figure 8 also shows the bar 5| fixed to housing `it and movable through an aperture in arm 45.

`As indicated in Figure 5, the wings 58 and 5S I extend outwardly in such directions as to guide movements of the tops of bottles to and from centered position onvthe plate 32. As indicated by the line in on Figure 5, during its movement beneath theclamping arm 45, the top of a bottle will move adjacent wing 58, the wing being sulficiently iiared so as to insure that the top of the lbottle will be directed beneath the top engaging fele'ment 53. `As indicated by the line out, an

'outgoing bottle will have its top move adjacent the'wing'59- l In order that the lower portions of bottles may be more readily centered upon the plate 32, a limit plate 66 extends outwardly from the lower portion ofeach housing 25, the outer edge of the plate being cut away on an arcuate line as indicated at 61 in Figure 12 totlimit the inward movement of a bottle on the plate 32 and thereby center the bottle.y

As is described in the above-mentioned Newton patent, during the time that a container supporting element I8 is adjacent the front and stationary table |5, it will be held in the upright position illustrated in Figure yl so that a container may be placed upon the plate 32. At this time', the upper edge of platform 3| as well as the upper surface of plate 32 will be flush with the upper surface of the stationary table 5. Thereafter, the container supporting element willi be 'turned to the inverted position shown in Figure 2 with the result that the roller 42 normally positioned downwardly as shown in Figure 6 will be brought into contact with the arcuate guide rail as illustrated in Figure 2. Guide rail 'H3 is spring mounted on brackets fixed to the underside of a cover-plate 1| mounted on posts such as 12 extending upwardly from the base of the machine outwardly of rotary table i6. Rail 1i) serves to hold each rotary platform iii in contact with the friction surface of a wheel 'i3 journalled on a central and fixed stub shaft i4y extending down from` plate 1|. As shown in Figure l., wheel 73 includes an upperpulley portion engaged b'y a belt 'l5 driven at high speed by a motor 'l5 suspended in an opening in plate 'il The motor is adjustably mounted soy that its position may be Varied to keep belt l5 under proper tension.

Wheel 'Il has its upper and inner portion stepped to intert with a corresponding portion of cover-plate 1| to form a' labyrinthine joint 'il and thereby prevent water thrown from the rapidly spinning bottles from moving down along stub shaft 74.

Each container supporting element |8 will move approximately 210 with the table in the inverted position shown in Figure 2 and the container will be spun by wheel i3 at an approximate speed of from 800 to 1500 revolutions per minute as described in the above-mentioned Newton patent. i At the conclusion of this spinning Inovement, the roller i2 of the container supporting element will move clear of the -outfeed end of rail 'l0 so that the container supporting element may be returned to upright position before it comes opposite the outfeed dial of the machine to have the container removed therefrom.

In order to control the movement of the container supporting element from the upright position shown in Figure 1 to the inverted position shown in Figure 2 and again return it to upright position, a rod 85 is mounted within each housing or hollow post |9` of rotary table it and is suitably connected by a link chain 9| to the shaft 20, journalled in housing I9,l which serves as the axis for the above-described turning Vor tilting movement of each container supporting element 8. By this arrangement, reciprocating motion of the rod will be transmitted through the chain 8| to shaft 2|] so as to rotate the shaft in the housing I9 and thereby turn the corresponding container supporting element 3 from the position shown in Figure 1 to that of Figure '2 and then return the element to upright position. Referring to Figure 4, in order that the chain 8| will have no play during its movement, a block `|33 is Secured within the upper portion -of eaeli housing which bears upon the rollers of the chain, the flanges of the chain rollers moving alongthe side edges of the block. Similarly, a block 84 has its arcuate upper end bearing upon an enlarged portion 85 of shaft 20, the inner side surface of the block 84 contacting with the rollers of the chain links and the roller anges riding along the block. Chain 8| has a pin connection with the upper end of the plunger 89 and its upper end carries a slotted plate 8Ia which is secured to shaft 26 by apin 86 extending through the slot and into a radial bore in the enlarged portion 85 of the shaft.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the lower end of each rod 88 carries a roller 88 which moves in a circular and xed cam track 89 formed in a casting or series of castings 96 secured to the stationary portion 9| of the base I5a of the machine beneath the peripheral edge of rotary table I6. The cam track 89 is of a form identical with that disclosed in the above-mentioned Newton patent. rIhat is, as best shown in Figures l and 11, cam track 89 includes a low portion 99a extending for approximately 210 of the path of rotation of table I6, this low portion of the cam being at the rear part of the machine. With the rotary table I6 turning in the direction of the arrows in Figures 10 and 11, a roller 88 on the rod 80 will be in the low portion 89a to hold the bottle inverted as illustrated in Figure 2 throughout approximately 210 of the movement of the container with the table. Then, as a container supporting element I8 approaches the stationary table I5, the roller 42 of the container supporting element will move off the outfeed end of the guide rail l0.

Immediately after roller 42 has moved out of engagement with guide rail 10, rod roller 88 will move up the incline 89h (Figures 10 and 11) of cam track 89 so as to raise rod S9 from the position indicated in Figure 2 to that of Figure l. The raising of rod 80 will cause shaft 2D to rotate in a clockwise direction with respect to Figure 2 so that the container supporting element will turn in a similar direction to return to the upright position of Figure 1. It will be noted that because the upper block 83 prevents chain 8i from slacking, the movement imparted to shaft 20 by the raising of rod 96 will be positive. In

any event, a container supporting element I9' cannot swing in a counterclockwise direction as Viewed in Figure 2 because the spinning platform 3l is in contact with the spinning wheel. Also, centrifugal effect set up by the rotation of table I6 urges the container supporting elements to swing outwardly away from wheel I3 until they reach a horiZontaLplane and then the weight of the elements urges them to a vertical and' upright position. As a result, chain 8i is under tension during the entire lifting of rod 86 and no play:

to cause sudden jerking can occur. When roller 88 reaches the high portion 89e of Figure 10, the container supporting element will have the upright position shown in Figure 1. At this timev platform 3| may contact with a friction shoe to have its spinning terminated as described in said Newton patent.

The container supporting element will continue in the upright position just described until the roller 89 moves down the decline 89d, thereby causing the rod 80 to be moved downwardly from the Figure 1 position to the Figure 2 position so that the element I8 will be inverted.

In order to lift and then lower vthe container I9, this block including an arcuate lower end clamping arm -45 during the time that the container supporting element I8 is held upright as in Figure 1, a second cam track 95 is formed on the front portion of casting 90 to actuate a roller 96 ycarried at the lower end of each plunger 50 as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

Figure 6 shows the rod 46 within element I3 in the clamping position which it will occupy during Aall tilting movement of the container supporting element as well as during the time that an element is inverted as in Figure 2. During all this time, the plunger 50 which is aligned radially of the table I6 with the rod 46 will be held downwardly by gravity in the vertical bore 91 in table I6 in which it reciprocates. As shown in Figure 2, at such time the lower end of plunger 56 simply rests upon a ledge 98 on the inner side 0f the downwardly extending skirt H15 of the table I6, its roller 96 moving beneath a rib 99 on casting 96. However, as illustrated in Figure 11, rib 99 leads to cam track 95 which includes an incline 95D, a dwell 95e and a decline 95d along which the roller 96 will move during the time that a container supporting element is in upright position. The actuation of this portion of the mechanism is as follows: When a container supporting element has been moved to an upright or substantially upright position by reason of the fact that the associated element rotating rod 86 has reached the rise 69e of cam track 89, the clamping controlling plunger 59 will have the position with respect to the upper plunger that is indicated in Figures 3 and 6. That is, the upper end of the plunger 59 will be out of contact with the socketed end 49 of rod 46, this position permitting the container supporting element to move to a substantially upright position from that of Figure 2. However, immediately element I8 has reached substantially upright position, the roller 96 of clamping controlling plunger 56 will move into the incline 95h of cam track 95 so that plunger 56 will rise to contact with the socketed end 49 of rod 46, thereby locking the entire element I9 against any swinging movement and, by continued lifting, also lifting the clamping arm 46 against the action of its spring 48.

As is described in the above-mentioned Newton patent, the bottle which has been mix-ed will then be removed from the plate 32 by the usual outfeed dial and a second bottle inserted by the infeed dial Il. Dwell 95o of cam track 95 is sufliciently high to insure that the clamping arm will be raised an adequate distance, though it will be observed that the clamping arm 45 can have its position adjusted on rod 46 for bottles of Various heights.

Immediately after a bottle has been positioned on the plate 32 by the infeed dial, roller 96 will move down decline 95d so as to draw plunger 5D to the position illustrated in Figures 3 and 6 so that clamping arm 45 may be lowered by spring 48 to clamp the bottle. Then roller 88 of element turning plunger 89 will move down decline 89d of cam track 89 to turn the bottle to inverted position. Since plunger 56 is drawn entirely clear of the lower end of upper plunger 46, the turning movement of the element will not be interfered with by plunger 50.

It will be noted that the provision of the plunger 5@ to control the lifting of clamping arm 45 likewise comprises a means to hold the container supporting elements locked in upright position while containers are being transferred.

In order that the top portions of containers will be positively centered in the clamping heads 45, an arm IDU (Figures 5 and 6) is provided on a rod I0! extending down from the front portion of cover plate 1|. Referring to Figure 5, a coil spring urges an arm Hl in a clockwise direction and each bottle passing the arm, just before clamping arm 45 has reached entirely lowered position, will have its upper portion brushed by the arm as indicated in Figure 6 so that the entire bottle will be urged to properly centered position. Also, the lower edge of spinning wheel 13 includes an outwardly extending ange |02 which, as shown in Figure 2, will Contact with the base portion of inverted bottles. That is, when a container supporting element rst reaches inverted position, the base portion of the bottle carried thereby will Contact with flange H52 and if the bottle is not centered at this portion, the flange will move it to such position.

It is found that the provision of the cover plate 'H prevents water thrown from the bottles during spinning from being distributed about the bottling plant. The high speed spinning has a very favorable action in drying bottles so that labels can readily be applied to them. More particularly, bottles are washed immediately before being lled, and are usually wet when subsequently moving through the labeler. However, the positioning of the present machine immediately adjacent the filler, and with the labeler close to the outfeed of the mixer, with an inspection machine perhaps interposed, insures that bottles will be dry when they reach the labeler.

The depending skirt 185 of table I6 may have vertical guideways, not shown, fixed on its inner wall to guide the vertical movements of the plungers 50 and 80. This skirt serves to enclose the cam track and plungers.

The structure of the container supporting platforms 3| including the spring pressed plates 32 is extremely eiiicientin that it enables containers to be held under spring tension and in a recess during tilting and spinning movement. It'

will be particularly observed that the inwardly and downwardly extending arms 34 of the platform 3| serve to center the containers carried upon the spring pressed plates 32. That is, as a container is pressed downwardly with the plate 32 by the descent of the clamping arm 45, the container will likewise be moved to a central pof sition with respect to the arms 34 because of the inward inclination of these arms. The arms 34 then serve to prevent any sidewise movement of the bottoms of the containers and the top engaging element 63 serves a similar purpose for the tops of the containers.

The caps of crown type applied to all sizes of containers are, of course, all of similar diameter and a single type of top engaging head 63 will therefore suflice for all types of containers. However, bottles of various makes and sizes vary in body and base diameter but a wide range of bottles can obviously be readily centered and clamped upon the platform structure 3l illustrated herein. As has been stated above, if a bottler only intends to handle one size and type of bottle, he may equip the machine with bottle centering plates such as indicated at 66 but this is not ordinarily necessary.

It will be noted from Figure l that becauseA of the slot and pin connection between chain 8l and shaft 20, the rod 85 and shaft can be readily adand readily adjustable connection is thereby provided.

` The terminology used in the specification is for the purpose of description and not of limitation, the scope of the invention being indicated in the claims.

We claim:

1. In a mixing apparatus, a base, a rotary table, a plurality of members carried by and vertically reciprocable with respect to said table, cam means on said base to reciprocate said members, container supportingv elements journalled upon said table for rotation with respect thereto, and a flexible strap connection between each of said members and said container supporting elements so that the supporting elements will be rotated in a vertical plane upon vertical movement of said members.

2. In a mixing apparatus, a base, a rotary table, a plurality of members carried by and vertically reciprocable with respect to said table,

cam means on said base to reciprocate said members, container supporting elements journalled upon said table for rotation with respect thereto, and an adjustable flexible strap connection between each of said members and said container supporting elements so that the supporting elements will be rotated in a vertical plane upon vertical movement of said members.

3. In a mixing apparatus, a base, a rotary table, a plurality of members carried by and vertically reciprocable with respect to said table, a plurality of horizontally arranged shafts journalled upon said table, container supporting elements xed to said shafts, and flexible strap elements extending between said shafts and said reciprocable members so that the shafts will be rotated in accordance with the reciprocation of said members.

Il. In a mixing apparatus, a base, a rotary table, a plurality of members 'carried by and vertically reciprocable with respect to said table, a plurality of horizontally arranged shafts journalled upon said table, container supporting elements xed to said shafts, flexible elements extending between said shafts and said reciprocable members so that the shafts will be rotated in accordance with the reciprocation of said members, and means associated with said shafts and exib-le elements to guide the latter about said shafts.

5. In a mixing apparatus, a base, a rotary table, container 'supporting elements journalled for rotation with respect to said table, means to rotate said elements, locking means movable on said rotary table to engage said elements to hold the latter stationary with respect to said table, and cam means on said base to control said locking means.

6. In a mixing apparatus, a rotary table, lcontainer supporting elements journalled for rotation with respect to said table, said container supporting elements including reciprocable container clamping arms, means reciprocable in said table to engage said elements to move said arms, said means being retractable from said elements to permit rotation of the latter with respect to said table.

7. In a mixing apparatus, a rotary table, container supporting elements journalled for rotation in a vertical plane with respect to said table, said container sup-porting elements including longitudinally reciprocable clamping arms, means to actuate said arms to clamping position, plungers reciprocable in said table, and means extending along the path of rotation of the table to move said plungers into engagement with said clamping arms to move the latter to non-clamping position.

8. In a mixing apparatus, a stationary table, a rotary table, container supporting elements on said rotary table, means to transfer containers between said stationary table and said 4container supporting elements during rotation of said rotary table, said container supporting elements including flared guiding plates formed to dene the path of transfer of a container.

9. In a mixing apparatus, a rotary table, container supporting elements journalled for rotation with respect to said table, said elements comprising a body portion and a top clamping arm reciprocable with respect thereto, a rotatable container top engaging element in said clamping arm, said body portion including a rotatable cup element, means on said clamping arm to limit movement of the upper part of a container and means on said body portion to limit movement of the lower part of the container.

10. In a mixing apparatus, a base, a rotary table, a plurality of container supporting elements on said table, means to deliver containers to said elements during movement of said rotary table including a fixed guide plate, and resilient means carried by said base arranged to cooperate with said delivery means and adapted to engage the containers to center the same on said elements.

11. In a mixing apparatus, a base, a rotary table, container gripping elements journalled for spinning movement on said table,y a wheel journalled on said base, means to drive said wheel, said wheel being adapted to be engaged by said gripping elements to cause the latter to spin, and means on said wheel to contact with the containers and move them to centered position in the gripping elements.

l2. In a mixing apparatus, a base, a rotary table, container supporting elements journalled for rotation with respect to said table, said container supporting elements including reciprocable container clamping arms, members reciprocable in said table to engage said elements to move said arms, cam means Xed on said base to move said reciprocable members, and means moving with said table to support said reciprocable members while the latter are not in engagement with said cam means.

13. In a mixing apparatus, a container support comprising a base for receiving the bottom of a container, Va head movable toward and from the base and adapted to engage the top of the container, said base being adapted to receive containers of various diameters and comprising an upwardly facing cup-like member having side walls extending inwardly and downwardly from its top edge, and a platform yieldably mounted substantially centrally within the side walls of the cuplike member and normally retained substantially flush with the top edge of said member, said platform having substantially equidistantly spaced peripheral portions alternating with side wall portions of said cup-like member.

14. In a mixing apparatus, a base, a rotary table, container supporting elements journalled for rotation with respect to said table, means to rotate said elements, locking means vertically reciprocable in said rotary table to hold said elements stationary with respect to said table and cam means on said base to control said locking means. i

l5. In a mixing apparatus, a base, a rotaryl table, a plurality of container supporting elements on said table, means to deliver containers to said elements during movement of said rotary table comprising a container feeding element and a guide plate, and means spaced above said delivery means to engage the upper portions of containers to center the same on said container supporting elements.

GEORGE W. NEWTON. PAUL R. POWELL. 

